Hollywood has long been inspired by the sports industry and vice versa, but rarely do these two worlds have the chance to coincide! On Saturday January 5, 2019, Los Angeles again welcomed some of the greatest athletes from across the world to celebrate Golden Globes weekend with “Gold Meets Golden.”

While last year’s Gold Meets Golden celebrated the past, the 2019 event looked at the future by highlighting ‘Youth in Sports.’ The 6th Annual Gold Meets Golden event presented by Coca-Cola partnered with Angel City Sports, a leading Paralympic organization in California, with a panel of current, past and future adaptive athletes. A $50,000 donation was also presented by The Points Guy, Brian Kelly, on behalf of the sponsors including United Airlines, Coca-Cola and others.

At the annual event, the Coca-Cola Company unveiled new Olympic merchandise as it looks toward the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. A special room featured golden items related to the new sports that will debut at these upcoming Games. Additionally, as the presenting sponsor of the Olympic Torch Relay, rare golden Olympic torches were displayed.

“We’re elated to celebrate the future and also to pay homage to Olympic and Hollywood history at this year’s Gold Meets Golden event refreshed by Coca-Cola and Smartwater,” said Dina Gerson, director, Olympic Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “Coca-Cola is proud of its 91-year relationship with the Olympic movement. From our company’s commitment to offer more choice through countless brand innovations as well as the debut of new sports in Tokyo 2020 – the future is golden. SmartWater is also thrilled to use this platform to celebrate philanthropic organizations that champion those who are inspired by their passions to forge their own path – like Angel City Sports, which provides opportunities to future adaptive athletes.”

At the event, attendees also received a first look at the new LAX Private Suite program from United Airlines, the official travel partner for Gold Meets Golden and also a proud sponsor of TeamUSA. Renowned J Vineyards & Winery Michelin-star Chef Carl Shelton provided a gold-medal menu of Brunch libations, including gold-dusted marmalade pop-tarts, golden croquenbouches, and a gold signature sparkling wine coupe tower.

Discovery Destinations and Farbound spotlighted the new 2020 Olympic sport of Sports Climbing, with a state-of-the-art projection-mapped, interactive Augmented Reality photo experience. Popular travel website “The Points Guy” and their founder Brian Kelly shared tips and tricks on how to maximize travel experiences and help future Olympic-bound passengers obtain gold status and beyond in the age of Golden travel.

Carrying a traditional torch for the event ignited by past performance of LA LA Land’s “City of Stars,” and Keala Settle’s “This is Me” from the Greatest Showman, which each won Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song, this year’s Gold Meets Golden stage was occupied by Globe-nominated Billy Porter (FX’s POSE, Broadway’s Kinky Boots, who performed the Globe-nominated hit song “Shallow” from “A Star is Born.” The performance was introduced by Lady Gaga co-writer Mark Ronson, and featured a specialty new Gold grand piano, which will be auctioned off online following the event to benefit the Angel City Games.

With the recent announcement of the Olympic’s triumphant return to Los Angeles in 2028, Hollywood has been handed a fresh dose of Olympic Fever. and this event was the perfect reminder of what’s yet to come!